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Paul VyskovskySpring 2006

Management of Management of leisureleisure and and themetheme parksparks

Agenda

Theme park design- Imagineering- Architecture/Development of themed worlds- Ride technology and safety aspects in construction

Amusement Park Physics – a simulation

Finance & Controlling

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ImagineeringImagineering

„We‘re always exploring and experimenting ...

we call it Imagineering –the blending of

creative imagination and technical know-how.“

Walt Disney

Theme Park Design

Imagineering Imagineering -- creating a new attractioncreating a new attraction

Theme Park Design

Idea / Early sketchingBrainstorming

Storyboard

Character Creation

Theme Setting

3D Modeling / Virtual ModelingArchitectural Planning / Statics

Staging / Interior Design

Ride Technology

Visual Communication

Special Effects

Quantifying the DesignIntegration

PublicPerformance

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Theme Park Design

Creating …

case study

1. Idea / Early Sketching

- based on Universal blockbuster movies “Mummy” and “Mummy 2”

- collaboration with film director Stephen Sommers

- 10 years in research and development

- Idea: “create a ride that plays withcommon human phobias”

Theme Park Design

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1. Idea / Early Sketching

Human PhobiasLysgophobia … fear of the dark

Entomophobia … fear of insects

Tachophobia.. … fear of speed

Acrophobia … fear of heights

Demonophobia … fear of evil spirits

Necrophobia … fear of death

Theme Park Design

2. Brainstorming

Theme Park Design

Brainstorming session for Blizzard Beach

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3. Theme Setting

- Studies of Egyptian Art and Architecture- Indoor roller coaster with themed dark ride

environments based on movie script- multi-sensory environment

Theme Park Design

4. Storyboard

Storyboard ofDisney’s Splash Mountain

Theme Park Design

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Theme Park Design

4. Storyboard – 2nd example

4. Storyboard

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5. 3D Modeling / Virtual Modeling

Theme Park Design

6. Architectural Planning / Statics

- Focus on groundwork, hull, statical issues, layout of ride, visitor guidance, façade, …

Theme Park Design

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7. Character Creation

- re-use of movie characters- ride will feature 60 mummies & warriors

and 1000 scarabs

Theme Park Design

8. Ride technology

Typecombination of varying speed steel roller coaster, with themed dark ride environments, projections, audio animatronics, sound,special effects, lighting

Track- 500 m track- 2,5 minutes length of ride- speed: 45 mph

Theme Park Design

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8. Ride technology

Vehicles16 passenger mine-car roller coaster

Roller coaster technology- electro-magnetic propulsion launch system- combination of linear induction motors (LIMs) and

SLIMs (used in dark ride area) to allow varying speed of the train (3 motors, 4 kinds of breaks)

- seven near “zero G” drop, acceleration forces of 1G+- one 25 feet fall at 50 degree angle- unique forward / backward motion

Theme Park Design

9. Special Effects

Sound System / Sound Effects

- audio system with 18,000 watts of sound, 200 speakers, vehicle is fitted with 22 speakers (350 watts)

- original music score precisely synchronized with ride effects and ride scenes, composed by musical composer Alan Silvestri

Theme Park Design

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9. Special Effects

Lighting- theatrical spot lighting throughout the attraction- ultraviolet black light technolgy, strobe lighting and

custom designed gobo patterns

Theme Park Design

9. Special Effects

video projection (1000 scarabs)realistic audio-animatronicssudden 20 feet free fall of 4 mummy warrior above guest’s headsTrue immersive flame effect directly over guest’s headsSmoke curtain effectForward / backward motion effect sudden halt at dead-end wall, out if which pour thousands of hungy scarabs heading for riders, vehicle switches tracks and slips backwards down a steep drop

Theme Park Design

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10. Staging / Interior Design

Scenics- main material is gypsum to

fabricate “ancient” slabs of stone making up the walls of the tomb

Decoration- The “Book of the Dead” (original movie prop)- statues, burial chambers, - hieroglyphics- ghostly images (flash black light/strobo/gobo effect)

Theme Park Design

11. Quantifying the design

project budget is developedbid packages are compiled and forwarded to ride manufacturers and supplierstendering procedure is completed, suppliers are selectedproject controlling is establishedMummy – The Ride total investment: $80 million

Theme Park Design

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12. Integration

construction beginscapacity planningride cycle timing simulation models createdinfrastructure is created

Theme Park Design

13. Visual Communication

Attraction BrandAttractions’ own websiteSneak Preview videos

Theme Park Design

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14. Public Performance

opening day supportfine tuning of show experience, ride cycle timing, capacity planningtransition from design and production to daily operation

Theme Park Design

Steel Roller Coasters- indoor/outdoor- Speed: 50 - 120 mph- Price tag: ~ US$ 15 mill.- Safety: 0,00002 % injury chance*- Engine:

- Linear Induction Motor (LIM)Rotor rotates around stator beacuse the magnetic field generated by stator induces acurrent in the rotor which opposes the direction of the magnetic field, constantspeed motor, speed changed by several motors along the track

- Linear Synchronous Motor (LSM)for high speed rides (100 mph), includes LIM, train is attracted and repeled by the magnetic flux at intervals that create maximum accelearation, can be used as accelerating and braking system – 0-60 mph in 2.8 seconds- Lift chain- Lift Tire

- Laser Sensors monitor position/speed of trains along track- Hydraulic restraints to keep passenger in seat- G-Forces: up to 4.5 Gs - Drop: up to 400 feet - Descent angle: 90 d.

*(IAAPA, 1988)

Theme Park Design

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Wooden Roller Coasters- Speed: up to 78 mph- Engine: Chain lift

Liquid Coasters- hybrid between roller coaster and water ride- operated by lift chain, lift tire and water flow - railing system for boat guidance

Theme Park Design

Liquid rides / Water Coasters

- movement of „log vehicles“through continuous water flow

- lift chain to get logsto top at beginning of ride

- water is recycled at end of attractionand pumped up back again

Theme Park Design

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Rapids Ride

- most popular family water ride- works with conveyor belt system

and continuous water flow- Free floating round structure of

vehcile makes every ride unique

Theme Park Design

Theme Park Design

Dark Ride

- endless transportation systemor individually motor operated cars

- track based with separated scenes/showcasesshowing animatronics/fixed installations

- new: interactive elements (shoot games) with merit based end-scenes

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Motion Simulator Rides

- Motion Theater (open version)- movie projection on large projection screen- synchronized hydraulic motion system

with 6 degrees of freedom (DOF)- high performance servo valves- surround sound audio system

Theme Park Design

Motion Simulator Rides

- Motion Theater (closed version)- high Resolution LCD projector- synchronized hydraulic (3 DOF)- or electric (6 DOF) motion system- high performance servo valves- Four speaker surround sound system

with under seat-subwoofer

Theme Park Design

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Audio Animatronics is a form of robotics. The robots move and make noise, generally speech or song. An animatronic robot works off prerecorded moves and sounds using speech synchronized air pressure or servor motors to initiatemovement of body, body parts, eyes, eyebrows, lips, skin, ... The firstAnimatronics were the Tiki birds invented by WED Enterprises for the Tiki Roomshow at Disneyland, CA.

Theme Park Design

Thrill ride (swinging ride / roundabout ride)

- four vertically mobile booms carrying onerotating cross

- Five arms at each end

- A gondola is mounted swiveling at each of these arms and during every operation motion itis aligned in driving direction

- chain drive operated

Theme Park Design

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Flying Carpet

- back and forward movement- 1.8 positive „G“ force- free falling experience- chain drive operated

Theme Park Design

Observation Towerwith Rotating/Fixed Observation Platform

Option 1:- Slightly curved arm with gondola- Lifting arm, beared in a steel frame,

which is screwed onto the groundOption 2:- hexagonal tower shaft with

2 high speed elevators- structure is not enclosed

to allow view from elevator

Theme Park Design

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Theme Park Design

Monorail

- high capacity transportation system

- direct current motor operated- runs on air tires

Free Fall Ride

- e.g. Gyro drop

Theme Park Design

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Rail guided vehicles- electric motor operated

Karts- Electric/Fuel operated

Theme Park Design

Bumper cars

Carousels

Theme Park Design

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Water Park rides

- Material: Polyurethane

Theme Park Design

Exercise: “Imagineer your own ride …”

Design an attraction of your choice applying the “Imagineering Design System”

Theme Park Design

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Theme Park Design

Planning & Development in the Industry

Europapark- all planning and development within company- own department with designer, architect,

construction engineer and business economist- development of 4 – 5 projects/year- redecoration is equally important as new creation

Other Theme Parks- external creative consulting team collaborates with

management, architect, ride engineering company

Themed Worlds

Theme Park Design

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Themed Worlds

http://themeparks.universalstudios.com/themeparks_flash.html

Interactive SimulationInteractive Simulation

1. form teams with 2 people

2. visit: http://www.learner.org/exhibits/parkphysics/

3. carefully read all instructions

4. carry out all exercises and write down your solutions (number of choice)

Amusement Park Physics

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GlossaryGlossary

see:http://www.learner.org/exhibits/parkphysics/glossary.html

Roller Coaster PhysicsRoller Coaster Physics

see:http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssci/phys/Class/circles/u6l2b.html

Amusement Park Physics

Interactive SimulationInteractive Simulation

Design a Roller CoasterCarousel Bumper CarsFree fallPendulum

Amusement Park Physics

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Key Financial Characteristics1. High Initial Costs- Austria € 5 – 10 mill, International: $ 200 mill. – X bn.- Time to recover debt: 10 years or more

2. Ongoing Capital Expenditures- periodic reinvestments necessary (see next slides)

3. High Operating Leverage- High fixed costs > strong leverage effect on incremental

value of each additional visitor (marginal cost)

4. Large Cash Flows- cash business > negative cash cycle through collection of

charges before settlement of payments (working capital)- strong seasonal dependency

Financing

How to finance an amusement park?

Rule of thumb:

1/3 equity capital

1/3 public funding

1/3 loans (long term/short term)

Financing

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Sources of funding

Equity capital: - Private Investors / Business Angels

- Joint Venture Partners

- Stock market

- Mezzanine capital

- Venture Capital

Loans:- Bank consortias

- Government

Public Private Partnerships

Financing

Investment requirements

At least every 2 years investments required in- repair/renovation of attractions- introduction of new attractions

as a result of - “wear&tear’- changing market conditions- expectations of repeat guests

“Themeing” increases necessary investment by at least 20 – 30 % per facitily

Financing

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Expenditure per person

Finance

$24

1h 4h 8h

entrance fee

total expenditure

Source: Park World, Sep 1990, p. 30f

2 Major Profit Drivers- Attendance- Revenue/Visitor

Most important cost factors

Finance

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Other (Energy,Insurance …)

Admin

Maintenance/Repair

Marketing

Cost of goods(F&B)

TemporaryPersonnel

Personnel

USAInternational

in % of total cost

Source: Funworld 12/89 – 01/90, p. 14

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The Business of Accounting for Theme Parks

- very transaction intensive- high sales volume places great demands on

revenue/cash management departments- labor intensity requires high volume output by payroll

department- challenging inventory accounting due to variety of

goods (F&B, merchandising)- many different vendors increase the demands of the

accounts payable department

Finance

Transforming Transaction Data to Value Added Business Decision Support

Finance

Transaction Processor

Control

ReportingService Provider

Business Decision Support

ValueAdd

Time/Resources

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Accounting activities

- revenue accounting: records and audits different revenues- cash control: records daily receipts, provdes change and

cash management functions of bank reconciliations and creditcard translations

- ticket control: prints, stores, distributes park ticket media- capital accounting: monitoring investments in physical

property (e.g. calculating Net Present Value of an attraction)- Analysis of merchandise & f&b business: periodic

evaluations with performance measures based on historicaldata, similar locations within park and to industry trends

Finance

Important Performance Measures

- sales: number of transactions, average transaction- merchandise movement: average unit retails, inventory

turns - drivers of food costs: menu-mix data, ingredient cost- labor productivity: sales/labor hour, labor in % of sales- revenue per cap: total revenue/total attendance

(normalization for seasonality)- guest mix (locals, tourists, ...)- guest flow analysis: sales by time > capacity management- cannibalization level: self-competition between outlets

Finance

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Tasks & Tools of Strategic Controlling

1. Strategic PlanningIndustry Analysis (e.g. Five Forces Model by Porter)Company Analysis (e.g. SWOT)

2. Strategic ControlBalanced ScorecardEarly Indicators

Controlling

Strategic Control – Early Indicators

Controlling

commercial services, PR departmentwho?

continouslyhow often?

systematic collection, desk research, use of external sources(e.g. Reuters), benchmarking

how?

press releases, news, company reports, competitor analysis, research & analyst reports

what?

measurement / monitoring

changes of national, international climate on a mid-/long-termview

timing

market position, investments, growth, cost situation, USP, pricing, …

has impact on

scope of company activity and competitioninfluenced by

competition and strategic alliancesfactor

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Theme Park Industry Balanced Scorecard

Controlling

FinancialDefinition of strategic financial goals

(sales, capital, cash flow)

Processes & EmployeesIdentification of critical business processes

and employee factors to ensurecustomer satisfaction and financial goals

Safety & MaintenanceCritical safety indicators to ensure

safe and faultless operation

Customerstrategic market goals, desired

market positioning and customer perception

Strategy

Theme Park Industry Balanced Scorecard

Controlling

Financialrevenue per cap revenue per sleeperticket yield return on investment/equityworking capital cash flow in % of salesequity rate debt-repayment period

Processes & Employeesaverage waiting time turnstile clicks/labor hourinventory turns attendance hour/labor hoursales/labor hour training hours/employee

no. of employee propositions/yearreturn rate of seasonal workers

Safety & Maintenancedowntime hours/year no. of incidents/yearaverage age of rides no. of security violations

no. of injuries/year (visitors/employees)success rate of periodic evacuation exercises

Maintenance cost in % of sales

Customerguest flow analysis customer satisfactionno. of guest complaints mystery shoppingaverage duration of visit repeat guest rate

guest mix (locals, tourists, segments)

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Tasks & Tools of Operational Controlling

2. Planning & BudgetingBudgetFinancial planPlanned Balanced Sheet

3. ReportingStandard Reporting (charts & figures)

Executive Reporting (1 page A4 max!)

Ad hoc ReportingException Reporting (red/yellow/green traffic light system)

Cockpit

Controlling

Cost & Activity Accounting –ABC Analysis

Controlling

% tu

rnov

er

% number

A B C- Importance- riskassessment

Purchasingvolume

Procurementfocus- Suppliers- Goods

- Strength- Importance- riskassessment

- Turnover- Profit

Margin

Sales focus- Customers- Products- Regions- Sales staff

ResultIndicatorsApplication

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Recommended Reading

Weinhandl M. (1992) Das Management von Freizeitparks, Diplomarbeit, Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien

Greenberg D. (2003) Amusement Park Physics, Broomall PA, Chelsea Clubhouse

Further Reading

Forman J. (1998) Corporate Image and the Establishment of Euro Disney: Mickey Mouse and the French Press, Technical Communication Quarterly, Vol. 7, No 3., p. 247 – 258

Bibliography

Recommended Reading

The Imagineers (1996) Walt Disney Imagineering, New York, Disney Editions

Konecny A. (1992) Die Stellung des Euro Disney Resorts unter den europäischen Freizeitparks ...., Diplomarbeit, Wien, Wirtschaftsuniversität

Reynolds R. (1999) Roller Coasters, Flumes & Flying Saucers, 1st Edition, Jupiter FL, Northern Lights Publishing

Greenberg D. (2003) Amusement Park Physics, Broomall PA, Chelsea Clubhouse

Dybedal P. (1998) Theme Parks as Flagship Attractions in Peripheral Areas, Research Centre of Bornholm

Further Reading

Marling K. (1997) The Architecture of Reassurance, Canadian Centre forArchitecture

ASTM F-24 (2203) Standard Practice for Design of Amusement Rides and Devices, ASTM International

Bibliography

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Theme Park Design